Council approves full Phase 1A of Old Mountain Field with fair‑share fees, awards construction contract to E.W. Berman

The Town Council on Feb. 24 authorized use of fair‑share development impact fees to finance the remaining balance needed to complete Phase 1A of the Old Mountain Field improvements and awarded the construction contract to E.W. Berman Inc.

Parks and Recreation Director Terry Murphy told the council the project has been through a master‑plan and value‑engineering process and returned three bids. The low responsive bid from E.W. Berman was $3,029,000 for Phase 1A without the stadium‑style seating; the seating was bid as an alternate for $749,000, producing a combined total of $3,778,000 if the council included the alternate.

Murphy said available funding sources included $977,571 in ARPA funds and $1,942,004 in reallocated CIP reserves. That left a funding gap the town proposed to cover with the fair‑share development fee balance. Recreation staff asked the council to authorize a $1,130,000 draw from the fair‑share fund so the full scope for Phase 1A could proceed without postponing the seating element.

Council members and staff discussed the tradeoffs. Council Member Bergner said she wanted to be cautious about depleting the fund entirely because other projects may rely on those fees. Finance Director Brian Sylvia explained the fair‑share fund balance was about $1,137,452 at the most recent accounting and that the town typically collects roughly $100,000–$140,000 annually. He also noted the fund must be used for new or upgraded public facilities and that unspent funds older than the statutory period could require refunding under state rules.

Murphy and design consultant Randy Collins explained that leaving the seating alternate out would make future installation more difficult and likely more expensive — a point the council weighed in deciding timing for the work. “If you do it in the future you’ll likely have to redo elements of this project,” Collins said.

After discussion, the council voted to (1) award the contract to E.W. Berman Inc. and (2) authorize the use of fair‑share development impact fees to fund the project shortfall so Phase 1A can be constructed as bid, including the seating alternate.

Council members said they expected staff to continue pursuing supplementary sources where available and to return with implementation details, including construction phasing to minimize impacts on spring athletic schedules. Director Murphy said work could start in spring 2025 and that, if the schedule holds, the town expects Phase 1A to be complete in early 2026.

The motion to approve the contract award and the use of fair‑share funds carried by voice vote.